Four in the Same
by Sesshomarusama3
Summary: When four turtles from another world drop in for a visit, the eight ninja terrapins are in a race against time to get them back home in once piece. Along the way, each of them discover that their counterparts, despite their looks, are not so different after all. (COMPLETE! YAY!)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Oh look at this, ANOTHER story, whilst so many other still need doing! XD.**

 **Well, for those of you who've seen the recent TMNT 2: Out of the Shadows trailer, you can tell most of the fandom is in an uproar of how excited they are to see it, including me! So I've been working on a crossover between 2014 and 2012 turtles! Through the chapters, I'll be mainly focusing on the 2014 P.O.V of the 2012 counterparts, and I'll call the 2014 turtles by their full names so you'll know which ones I'm writing about.**

 **I hope you enjoy it!**

 **I OWN NOTHING! IF I DID, I'D BE STUPID RICH.**

 **Eh? Get it? 'Stupid Rich'?...ah forget it.**

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 **Four in the Same**

 **Chapter 1**

Donatello sighed with a slow shake of his head as he stood up from his chair, adjusting his glasses on the bridge of his nose as he paced the floor back and forth, hands twitching nervously as he clasped them together. He then looked over his shoulder to face the four of... _them..._ watching him pace from the couch, looking very much like children about to be punished by their parents.

Of course, they weren't in trouble by any means, oh no. Well, at least not with him personally, or his brothers. But Donatello presumed that it was simply due to the whole situation in general, plus the drastic difference in height and muscle-mass, that made them a little apprehensive…which was a little ironic, given that it was _he_ that was freaking out the most, despite his calm, cool and collected demeanor…which was quickly starting to crumble.

"So," he began conversationally, clearing his throat when his voice cracked about two octaves before he continued, gaining the attention of everyone in the room. "To recap: You four are _us_. Us, from another _dimension_ , filled with an entire race of _alien robots_ called the 'Kraang', _ninja_ robots, _more_ mutants, _time_ _travelers_ , _alien_ _ **dinosaurs**_ …and you were accidentally transported to _our_ dimension through a portal that you can't locate by yourselves, so you need our help to _find_ the portal, find _your_ version of Master Splinter, and get back to your dimension within forty-eight hours, or else you'll be stuck here forever. Am I missing anything?"

The four other turtles – _other turtles from another freaking dimension that were_ _ **literally**_ _just like them_ – turned to each other, sharing timid glances, before they turned back to Donatello and shook their heads, wearing bashful, hesitant smiles.

"No, uh…we think you pretty much got everything," said Other Donnie. And it was only then that Donatello realized that not only was this version of him lankier and not quite as built as he was, not only did he or any of them not wear clothes or glasses – lucky little squirt – and have three toes instead of two, but when he smiled, he had an actual gap tooth _._ A freaking _gap tooth. Good lord._

"Hm," Donatello muttered, nodding his head and swallowing thickly as he pursed his lips together, whatever words he had left to say being caught in his throat with no chance of being released.

Well then.

"It's a little difficult to take in, isn't it?" said Other Leo – who was so much like his own older brother in so many ways that it hurt, with the same bright blue eyes, the same crooked understanding smile and that same composed air about him whenever he spoke to him or Michelangelo or Raphael on a bad day– as he looked up at him, shrugging one shoulder.

"Yes, yes, it is, thank you for acknowledging that," Donatello managed to get out, before he went back to his pacing, mumbling incoherently under his breath of how this was impossible, this couldn't really be happening and yet it was _this is unbelievable there are actual other versions of_ _ **himself**_ _and his entire_ _ **family**_ _sitting RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM HOLY CATS THIS_ _ **AMAZING WHAT**_ _–_

"Leo, I think Donnie's broken," Michelangelo didn't whisper oh-so discreetly as his brothers – _his_ brothers – watched him from behind the couch that their counterparts were sitting on.

Standing on right side of the couch with his arms folded across his chest, Leonardo chuckled and shook his head. "Not yet he isn't," he didn't whisper back.

"But he's getting there," Raphael quipped on the other side, hands on his hips as he regarded Donatello with a growing smirk.

"I _can_ hear you," Donatello snapped.

"We know," they all chimed, grinning as they shrugged in unison. Donatello narrowed his eyes at them all behind his lenses. Good to know that they could still make jokes and tease him even at a time like this.

The little one, the Other Mikey – the one with freckles instead of dimples, a high pitched voice that had yet to crack and smile brighter than a thousand suns when directed at you – giggled at the exchange, idly swinging his legs back and forth as he sat there. "Dude, that is _so_ something we would do, am I right?" he snickered, nudging Other Leo with his elbow and earning a tolerant smile and a roll of the eyes that only a big brother – only a _Leo_ – could ever hope to pull off.

"You _don't say_ ," muttered the Other Raph – with intense, burning emerald eyes instead of blue, mirrored cracks on the left side of his plastron and carapace that looked like they'd been inflicted by a sword, and a sneer that reminded him less of Clint Eastwood and more of a wolf desperate to lash out from its cage – as he rolled his eyes skyward and crossed his arms defensively over his chest.

Sighing again, Donatello trudged back hopelessly to his computer desk chair and let himself plop into it, lifting his glasses off before rubbing a hand over his eyes. It was almost two in the morning, far too early to be learning about other dimensions and other versions of his family, and the purple clad turtle was exhausted in every way imaginable. And Splinter hadn't even come home yet. "I'm sorry, I really am, I'm just…this _shouldn't_ be – _can't_ be possible," he said.

Putting his glasses back on, he looked back at the four of them again. "How are you guys _not_ freaking out about this? This is _huge_ , possibly the greatest scientific discovery of _all time_ and yet – "

"Trust me, we get it," Other Donnie said, holding up a hand as he stood up from the couch, offering Donatello another gap-toothed smile as he approached him. "We've already been through the whole 'oh my god there're other 'us-es' that exist' thing. We know _exactly_ what you're going through, and believe me, it wasn't any easier to believe," he added with a weary look that showed he really _had_ been through it all. And probably to the same 'holy crap science' extent that Donatello was currently suffering too, since they were, y'know, the exact same person.

"Yeah dude, we _totally_ get it, yo," Other Mikey added eagerly, practically bouncing on his seat and jostling Leo and Raph on either side of him. "We've seen, like, _tons_ of other versions of us. We even saw this one dimension where these two guys made a cool lookin' _comic book_ out of us, and we even had a dorky _cartoon_ series – _ooh_ , I think they even made live-action _movies_ of us with guys in giant turtle suits and Raph says ' _DAAAAAAMN!'_ –"

 _"MIKEY!"_ the three other-turtles barked, making little Mikey – even _Michelangelo_ out of instinct – flinch backwards as he clamped his mouth shut.

"Now is _really_ not the time for that," Other Donnie said, pinning Other Mikey with an insufferable look that Donatello had seen and done a thousand times in his lifetime. In response, Other Mikey grinned timidly and shrugged with a soft "sorry" under his breath. Other Raph then smacked him upside the head, to which Other Mikey responded by sticking his tongue out at him. Other Leo shook his head, pinching the space between his brows with a long-suffering sigh.

However, despite the truth of Other Donnie's words about the sheer direness of the situation they'd found themselves in, Donatello couldn't help but smile a little at the exchange, visibly relaxing as he watched them bicker with one another. They all looked so different compared to him and his brothers; their size, their voices... _everything_ about them was different…but that was all physical. They _looked_ different in nearly every possible way, but their personalities, their quirks, their brotherly bond that hid the pure undying love and affection for one another underneath relentless teasing and banter and 'I will pound you Mikey' threats…

Everything that made them, well, _them,_ was still there.

It didn't matter that they were from different dimensions, because the eight of them in this room were still very much four in the same. They were still brothers. They were still family.

And as he shared a knowing glance with his other brothers in the room, it was clear that they knew it, too.

"So, now that we've gotten all _that_ out of the way," said Other Donnie, turning back to face Donatello with another smile that was both apologetic – probably in Mikey's stead – and sincere, "does this mean you guys will help us out?"

Letting out a final breath, to release the remnants of the bubbling tension and confusion, Donatello grinned. "Well, it would be kinda stupid _not_ to. After all, you're _us_ , aren't you?" he said.

The surprised look on the other turtle's face was almost like looking into a mirror, before he grinned back, his humorous chuckle hiding the relief that flooded through him. Behind him, his brothers were grinning too, sharing hope-filled glances with one another that, oddly enough, spread a warm feeling through Donatello's chest.

Then he stood up, putting on his best impression of Leonardo as he put his hands on his hips, smiling down at his shorter self. "Let's rock and roll, boys," he announced proudly.

He heard a chorus of loud smirks float across the room, all of them coming from the other six turtles as they shook their heads, both Raphaels' slapping a hand over their face. "Man, that is so damn _corny_ ," the larger Raphael said.

Donatello frowned, crossing his arms defensively. "Hey! You never said that whenever _Leo_ says it!"

"That's because it's _cooler_ when _I_ say it," Leonardo boasted, earning a muffled laugh from the smaller Leo.

"Alright!" Other Mikey crowed, jumping up from the couch as he punched the sky with glee. "Y'all better watch out, Kraang! 'Cus the turtles are comin' at ya! **_BOOYAKASHA_** _!"_

Four sets of eyes stared at the freckled turtle in bewilderment.

" _Booyakasha_?" Michelangelo repeated, raising a brow.

"The hell does that mean?" Raphael muttered.

"Doesn't sound right," Leonardo mused, shaking his head.

Donatello was inclined to agree with all of them as he made a face. What kind of catchphrase was _that_? It was weirder than 'Cowabunga', and that was really saying something.

The smaller Mikey blinked, looking at each of them in confusion. "What? You guys don't say that either? Dude, are we the _only_ ones who say ' _Booyakasha'_? Bummer."

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 **A/N: ADVENTURE! I hope you guys enjoyed that and more are on the way! :)  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Second chapter! I'm glad you guys are liking it so far!**

 **BTW, this entire story was originally supposed to be a one-shot t put on my Drabbles story, so it's kinda written in one-shot format, sorry about that XD I hope you still enjoy it regardless :)**

 **I OWN NOTHING!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

"Dude, you guys have a cat made of _actual_ _ice cream_ at your place?!"

"Yeah, dude! Her name's Ice Cream Kitty, and she's the most adorable little kitty in the whole world _ever_! She has to live in the freezer though, otherwise she starts melting, but she's still an awesome pet! She's also an awesome listener, and she's a real _boss_ at card games; she even beat me at Pokémon, but she _totally_ cheated I _know_ it –!"

"And Splinter actually let you _keep_ her? Even though he's, y'know, a rat?"

"What? Oh, yeah! Once I explained how she got mutated – which was _not_ my fault, by the way – and once we knew she wouldn't try to eat him, he decided to let her stay. He actually likes having her live in the freezer. Plus, she's really good at keeping everything nice and cold, like the frozen pizzas and the cheese-sickles and stuff. Like I said, she's the greatest mutant pet _ever._ "

"Dude, I wish _we_ had an ice cream cat. Hey, Leo, can we get an ice cream cat too?!"

"…I'll definitely consider it, Mikey."

Michelangelo chuckled at his older brother's deadpanned reply from across the room, before turning back to watch his smaller freckled counterpart – dubbed as 'Mini-Mikey' – as he lay on his stomach on the floor, coloring in a cute little drawing he'd done of his mutant pet ice cream cat with some spare crayons he'd found for him in his room. Whilst the older ones were in the dojo with Master Splinter debating on their next move to find the creepy aliens and get Mini-Mikey and his family back to their own world, Michelangelo had offered to keep his jumpy other-self occupied for a little while. Or as Mini-Raph had put it, 'shut him up for a few minutes'.

Michelangelo had been more than content to watch the little guy color, and to listen to him talk about their world, especially about their versions of some of their closest friends – to learn that April was a _teenager_ in their world was almost hilarious. But the best part of listening ti him was when he'd told him about some of their greatest adventures together.

He had trouble figuring out which one was his favorite story, because there were just _so many_ ; the time they'd first defeated the Kraang and their Technodrome ship, the time they'd ventured into Dimension X, the time they'd had to go to April's farmhouse in Northampton where they'd met _Big Foot,_ the time they'd gone to the _Spirit World_ , the time they'd gone back to Medieval times, _the time they'd went to_ **_outer_** _ **space**_ _to stop the world from getting sucked into a_ _ **black hole**_ –

Wow…now that he really thought of it, these versions of them had really been through a lot, more than he and his own brothers had ever been through. And if he had to put everything he'd been told into a single, solitary word, it would be _radical_.

However, Michelangelo had noticed something _not_ too radical about Mini-Mikey when he'd mentioned the black hole thing; his eyes had lost their brilliant spark for a moment, turning downcast, with something dark, _haunting,_ as his smile diminished into a frown. But as quickly as it had come, it was gone again in the next instant as he switched the subject to something lighter, his bright smile returning as he chatted away.

However, if there was anything Michelangelo was an expert at, it was reading people...and in this case, he was reading _himself._

Whatever had happened to them during _that_ particular adventure – and possibly every single other one before that – it had left a scar on him each time, one that would never go away. And every time he though or talked about it, it _hurt_ , more than he could possibly imagine. And no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't hide it behind a cheerful smile, or a dismissive wave of the hand.

Michelangelo's experience of being nearly drained to a husk in Sach's lab that day… _that_ had left a scar on him too, physical and mental. It still haunted him, even to this day, to think about what would've happened if Raphael, April or even Vern hadn't been there to save them in time. But to think that his other self, a kid who'd been through and seen things that Michelangelo could never even _conceive_ , a kid who'd been through hell and back…he still liked to draw pictures and color with crayons, he still liked to watch corny Saturday morning cartoons, he still laughed and made silly jokes…

If a kid, who should've been – and probably _was_ – suffering from some serious PTSD after going through all of that, could still _be_ a kid…that was wicked. No, better yet, that was _awesome_.

The same could be said for his older brothers, too. They didn't let their experiences bring them down. Instead, they used them as stepping stones to lift themselves higher and higher, making them stronger, faster, wiser…and yet, a part of them could still be just _kids_.

Michelangelo was no major genius like Donatello was, and he was no spiritual wiz like Leonardo, but he could still understand. And it was upon understanding all of this that he looked up from the comic book he'd been reading and watched Mini-Mikey as he started a new picture, humming a little tune to himself as he kicked his legs back and forth where he lay on the floor.

"Y'know somethin' little dude?" he said.

Mini-Mikey stopped humming and looked up at him, his baby blue eyes wide and expectant.

Michelangelo grinned. "You guys are badass."

Mini-Mikey blinked once in surprise, and then he grinned back. "Aw, thanks, other me! But come on, we all know the real badasses here are _you_ guys!"

 _Nah, man. We're nothing compared to you, little guy…_

Looking over his shoulder at where the others were gathered around maps and blueprints, Michelangelo deemed they wouldn't be done for a little while yet…which left just enough time for him to carry out his master plan as he set down his comic and stood up. "Hey, if you want, we can sneak into Donnie's place and look at some cat videos on his computer. I've got some wicked stuff that I _know_ you'll love, little dude."

Michelangelo had thought the kid's smile couldn't have gotten any bigger or brighter, but he was quickly proven wrong when he shot up from the floor and whooped with joy. "Big Badass Me, lead the way!"

Laughing, Michelangelo let the freckled turtle climb onto his shoulders, and the two of them snuck off to fiddle with Donnie's things again. The resident genius wouldn't be too mad about it since it was only to watch some good old-fashioned cat videos, right? And possibly drink their secret stash of Orange Crush that Raphael still didn't know about, and eat the rest of the Poptarts that Donatello _hadn't_ licked yet...

Michelangelo knew that nothing he did for Mini-Mikey today wouldn't take away the pain. An hour of happiness couldn't destroy years worth of painful, scarring memories. But he'd be damned for the rest of his life if he couldn't shed a little more light in his life, take at least _some_ of the sting away.

After all, making people people happy was what they did best, right?

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 **A/N: Whew! That was a pretty good chapter, I think? ^_^ I hope I did both Mikey's some justice, and I hope you guys liked it!  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: AAAAND Chapter 3 in the house XD. Like I said, this was meant to be a one-shot thing, so I've pretty much written the entire thing already (except the last part, which I'm still working on) so I'll be updating this really fast :) I'm glad everyone's liking it so far!**

 **I OWN NOTHING! I'M NOT STUPID RICH YET!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

Over the past fifteen years, Splinter had seen and had been through many strange things in his lifetime underground. Of course, he and his children were a very fine example of said strange things. However, as he watched his three eldest sons converse their plans with their near identical counterparts from a parallel world, he was certain he'd seen it _all_.

These four otherworldly turtles, whilst they appeared younger than his own sons, and supposedly lacking in strength due to their size, it was clear that they had experience, wisdom, and skills that were far beyond their years. Simply by observing them from a distance – the way the young Leonardo spoke so assuredly, the way the young Donatello aided his other self to locate oddities on the maps, the way young Raphael actually _withheld_ the urge snap and bark harshly at his other self when he'd questioned his leader's orders – it was clear that they were indeed very strong, not just physically, but mentally, spiritually…

Their emotional state, however, was something Splinter found rather disconcerting. He could see it in their eyes, despite their best efforts to hide it and focus on the task at hand. These boys were anxious, angry… _afraid_ …and rightly so. They were trapped in a world far from their own, with only two days to find a way to return and find _their_ father, before it was too late.

The old rat wanted nothing more than to take them aside, assure them that everything would be alright. That they would find their father, and return them to where they truly belonged. They were not _his_ children, but they were still a part of his family. And there was nothing, absolutely _nothing_ , that Splinter wouldn't do for his family

It was whilst the six of them –seven including Splinter – were trying to pinpoint where the Kraang were hiding and come up with a plan to stop them that April finally arrived. After Donatello's insistence, Leonardo had called her up on her new cell phone, apologizing for interrupting her day off over urgent matters, but she hadn't minded a bit, promising that whatever they needed, she would be right over to help out any way she could.

As the young woman entered the lair and came into view, Splinter couldn't fight the smile that tugged at his rodent features. If there was anything that their _Hogosha_ was, it was assertive, stubborn, and far too kind-hearted for her own good. And the boys and Splinter couldn't have asked for anyone as remarkable as April O'Neil.

"Hi guys," she greeted with a smile, setting her backpack down on the couch as she approached them in the dojo, where they were gathered around computers and maps of the city. "I came here as quick as I could. What's going –?"

She stopped mid-sentence, frozen in her tracks as she stared at three other turtles that she _knew_ were not supposed to be here. The turtles in question looked up from their maps, mirroring her baffled expression as they gazed up at her.

Folding his hands behind his back, Splinter hobbled over to the motionless April with a knowing smile, reaching up and resting a clawed, bony hand on her shoulder. "Do not fear, April. These are my sons as well…from another world, that is," he explained, and was surprised at how calm he sounded. After all, his reaction to finding four _more_ turtles in his home had been, to his sons, a rather hilarious experience.

Blinking rapidly, April's gaze shot from Splinter to the smaller turtles, then to his own sons, and back to Splinter. If not for himself, Splinter would've outright laughed; he'd never seen the young woman so flabbergasted before. And from the looks on his eldest children's faces, he could safely assume they felt the same.

"Wait a sec… _you're_ _ **April?!"**_ young Donnie cried, pointing a shaking green finger in April's direction as he stood up, his brothers following suit, none of them taking their eyes off her. "B-But… you're _not_ a _teenager?!"_

Behind them, Raphael smirked loudly, barely able to restrain the full on laugh as he slapped a hand over his mouth and turned away. Donatello and Leonardo were no different. April, on the other hand, furrowed her brows at the younger turtle. "… _no…_ I'm not a teenager," she said slowly. "Is that a problem?"

Donnie blinked. "What? _Nonononono_ , not at all," young Donnie said, quickly trying to make amends. "But it's just…you're a full-grown _woman_ in this universe! And you're really _pretty_ , like, 'movie-star pretty' – well, not that _our_ April isn't pretty, in fact she's _beautiful_ , but – wait, did I say all of that out loud?"

 _"YES,"_ his brothers droned, slapping their hands over their eyes and shaking their heads in despair. By now, their larger counterparts were laughing hard, nearly falling over each other and wiping tears from their eyes. Splinter could do nothing but shake his head at their childish antics, but then again, what did he expect from teenagers? _His_ teenagers.

Eventually, April found herself smiling too, shaking her head before raking a hand through her long brown locks. "Guys," she breathed, capturing their attention once more as they turned to her. "When you called me saying that this was urgent…you could've gone into a _lot_ more detail, y'know."

"Hey, you're a reporter, ain't ya? Gotta expect the unexpected, am I right?" Raphael quipped with a shrug of his large shoulders. April sent him a look of fond exasperation, one that only Splinter knew only April O'Neil was capable of.

"Wait, you're a _reporter_?" young Leo probed, looking genuinely intrigued rather than surprised. When April nodded, the boy placed a finger against his chin, narrowing his eyes thoughtfully, reminding Splinter so much of his own Leonardo that it almost hurt. "Then you can scope out the city for us, right? You can gather info on anything out of the ordinary…or in this case, 'not from this world' out of the ordinary?"

"That's partly the reason why we called her over in the first place," Leonardo explained, turning to grace April with a fond, knowing smile. "April's good at gathering intel on the 'supernatural' things that crawl around this city. And once she's on the trail something _big_ , there's no stopping her."

At that, April placed her hands on her hips, her smile glowing with confidence. "Well, that's what I do best," she said, and Splinter couldn't have been more proud of her in that moment. "Just tell me exactly what I'm looking for, and Vern and I will get right on it. But first, I'd like a little explanation of why there are more than _four_ turtles in this –"

 _"ANGEL CAKES!"_

All heads whirled around as 'hurricane Michelangelo' made his appearance, with the younger Mikey sat high on his shoulders with a look of wonder on his face as he stared down at April. As Michelangelo skidded to a halt mere inches from crashing into the young woman, he let the freckled turtle slide off his shoulders before enveloping April in a warm hug that was just shy of crushing her.

"April, girl, what's good?!" he chimed, releasing her before she could suffocate at Splinter's stern look. However, after getting her breath and her sense of balance back, April only smiled at him and patted his arm, returning his enthusiastic greeting.

After that, Splinter took a step back and watched, still unable to wipe the smile off his face, as eight mutant turtles surrounded the young woman, the shorter ones bombarding her with questions as the larger ones did their best to keep them from crowding her. Even though this April was apparently _very_ different from the girl they'd been familiar with in their home world, they still looked up to her and adored as though nothing had changed.

Indeed, they were still very much like his own children. No matter the differences, they still loved April O'Neil. They still loved and respected Splinter, even though at first they'd been hesitant about him. And, perhaps the best thing of all –

"By the way, April, you kinda look like Megan Fox."

–it mattered not what universe they were from; they were still his beloved children through and through, right down to their personalities… _and_ their foolish outbursts.

With a soft sigh, Splinter shook his head. "Teenagers."

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 **A/N: Ah Splinter XD I hope I did okay, and more are on the way! Stay tuned!  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey everybody! New chapter! I hope I did okay, and feedback is very much appreciated XD**

 **I OWN NOTHING!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

As it turned out, little purple was just as talkative and techno-babbly as his own Donnie, if not more so, and it'd been a little difficult for Raphael to understand exactly what he was saying half the time. But from what he _did_ manage to get, it was that the portal the freaky aliens used to travel between dimensions was powered by some kind of strange 'energy crystal', which lost its power after forty-eight hours of extensive use.

If the aliens were using that portal to transport their massive armies to _this_ dimension for a full-scale invasion – at least, that's what little purple had _thought_ their ultimate goal was – then there wouldn't be much time until the machine ran out of energy completely, leaving the little ones trapped here forever…or worse.

So, after they'd finally explained the whole 'weird dimensional crap' situation to April, she'd scoured the city along with Vern for any sign of the creatures. Sure enough, a few hours passed before they'd finally come across something unusual; four, scarily identical men dressed in business suits guarding the entrance to an old warehouse on Delancey Street.

With that, they'd followed her lead to the old warehouse, all eight of them bounding across the rooftops of the city with the setting of the sun behind the towering skyscrapers. Once they'd secured the outer perimeter and finally moved in from the rooftop, they'd found that the Kraang had stationed their large portable portal device right in the center of the room for all to see – the stupid things weren't exactly the best at keeping things _hidden_ , that was for sure.

To their relief, for the time being, the machine had been switched off, meaning that they still had a little bit of time left before it was drained of power completely.

The plan to get the portal had been simple. Get in, destroy the robots, find the other version of Splinter, grab the portal thing, and get out. And it'd gone pretty well at first, with the eight of them combined ploughing through the robots like measly bugs on a windshield. And Raphael had found it surprisingly _fun_ ; who would've thought that crushing alien robots could be so exhilarating?

Then little orange had gotten shot.

It all happened so fast. One minute, the kid was dancing around the Kraang, shouting that ridiculous catchphrase at the top of his lungs as he swung his nunchaku faster than the eye could see. The next, there was a blast of purple light, a choked cry of pain, before the kid collapsed to the floor, blood pooling from the wound as he lay there, motionless…

The reaction had been instantaneous. The remaining three little ones had whipped their heads around at the sound of their brother's cry, their eyes widened and full of unparalleled horror.

 ** _"MIKEY!"_**

Ultimately, with a man down, with a wound that could be fatal, and the Kraang regrouping and ganging up on them with their blasters set to kill, they'd had no choice but to retreat, without the portal, and without the other Splinter. The mission had been a total failure. And worse, one of the little guys had gotten hurt. _Really_ hurt.

Now, they were back at the lair, which had quickly turned into a ghost town with the oppressing silence that lingered like a dark cloud over their heads. They'd managed to save little orange, thank god. He'd been shot in the shoulder, but nothing vital had been torn or burnt, and it was thanks to Splinter and both Donnies' that he'd made it in one piece.

Now, he was on Michelangelo's bed, completely knocked out for the next two hours thanks to the pain meds Donatello had doused him with. His right shoulder was tightly wrapped up in layers of bandages, which would make it difficult for him to move properly when he woke up. But it was for his own good; the kid was just as bouncy as _his_ Mikey, and moving around would only aggravate the wound. Even if it meant the little guy would end up irritated, feeling trapped with being unable to move about as much as he liked, at least he'd still be _breathing_ …

Little blue was lying down on the bed beside him, the large blanket draped over them both. His hand was grasping his younger brothers' uninjured one as tight as he dared, and though his eyes were closed, and his face seemingly at peace, it was clear that he was anything but sleeping. He was on guard, ready in case his brothers needed him in any way, to protect them even in the safety of the lair…Raphael mused that it was just something no Leonardo could help but do when it came to the younger brothers.

Little purple had passed out on the couch a little while after they'd set little orange down. Michelangelo had covered him with one of the spare blankets, and had pillowed his head on his lap, gently patting the back of his shell as he slept, as if to comfort him. Leonardo was with Donatello in his little 'command center', planning their next move, and Splinter had gone into the dojo to meditate after clearing away the medical supplies.

However, as Raphael looked around the lair, he saw no trace of his other self. He could've sworn he'd seen him leaning against the wall or something a few minutes ago, glaring at the floor with his arms crossed over his chest, fists trembling and teeth grinding…

"Hey, where's the little hot-head?" he asked no one in particular as he continued to look around the main room, but still saw no sign of him. He knew the little ones were quiet, but he hadn't thought they were quiet enough to escape even _Splinter's_ detection. Damn. Sneaky little buggers were sneaky.

"Uh, I think he went into the tunnels or something just a few minutes ago, I think," Michelangelo offered, his voice low so that he didn't wake the sleeping little purple on his lap.

Raphael raised a non-existent brow. "Why?"

Michelangelo shrugged one shoulder. "He's _you_ , dude," he said, looking back down at little purple as he resumed the gentle petting. "Nobody can know yourself better than _you_ do."

Blinking hard, Raphael stared at his younger brother, startled into silence at his comment, though his little brother didn't seem to notice. He never dreamed he'd ever admit it, but Michelangelo was probably _right_ …in a weird 'Mikey' kind of way. And now that Raphael thought about it, he _did_ know why his shorter self had gone off the way he had.

Because his little brother had gotten hurt…and he hadn't been able to do anything to stop it.

It didn't take long for Raphael to find him. Deeper into the maze of tunnels not far from the lair, he was punching a wall, his green eyes ablaze with fury. He hadn't noticed that the looming hulk of his other self was staring at him from the mouth of the tunnel, or the fact that his knuckles were bleeding, leaving bright red stains splattered across the brickwork…or the fact that there were hot tears streaming down his cheeks.

Knowing that he wouldn't stop until he broke every bone in his hands, Raphael let out a huff before he finally stepped in and grabbed the kids' shoulder. Instantly, the kid whirled around with a growl that rivaled a rabid dog's, and glared up at him fiercely, slapping his hand off his shoulder. He didn't move to wipe the tears away, nor did he avert his fiery emerald gaze away in shame.

Raphael couldn't blame him for his attitude. They'd been edging around each other since the day they'd shown up, though neither of them had any real idea as to why.

But now, it was about time they put whatever issues they had against each other to rest.

Folding his arms across his broad chest, Raphael regarded his shorter self solemnly. There were no hard glares or any half-assed snarky remarks exchanged between them as they stood there, not this time. Instead, silence endured, broken only by the noise of subway trains and car horns on the surface world…and the breaths of exhaustion, pain, and anger that hissed through little red's clenched teeth.

It was obvious neither of them wanted to speak first to break the tension; neither of them had ever been all that good with words. And there was no way Raphael could tell him that what had happened to his little brother that night hadn't been his fault, that he wasn't to blame, that little orange was going to be alright, that they would find their master and get back home together before time ran out. He was too ridden with the guilt to listen to any of that mushy crap.

However, if he couldn't _tell_ him, he'd just have to _show_ him, the only way both of them really knew how.

Uncrossing his arms, Raphael took a step towards his other self. And ignoring the guarded stance the little guy took at his movement, he reached out and grasped his shoulder again, before pulling him to his chest. Little red stiffened, but didn't push him away. He just stood there, eyes wide and unbelieving.

A part of Raphael wanted to laugh. Here he was, comforting himself in the weirdest, most awkward way he could've ever imagined. Any other day, if a member of his family was feeling downcast for whatever reason, a pat on the shoulder or a rough noogie would've sufficed. Raphael just wasn't the hugging type. But this…this was a little different.

Closing his eyes, and tightening his grip on the little one's shoulder, Raphael let out a soft breath, still not quite believing that he was really doing this.

"It'll be okay," he said simply. It was the only way he knew how to tell him that it wasn't his fault, that he shouldn't be blaming himself. That everything was _going to be okay_ …

He heard little red's breath hitch brokenly. Then he hesitantly brought up a bloodied hand, and laid it atop the larger hand that braced his shoulder, his forehead resting against Raphael's chest. No more words were exchanged between the two as they stood there, with only each other and the silence of the sewer tunnels as their company for what felt like an eternity.

Until…

"Don't punch that wall anymore, got it? That's _my_ wall."

That got a wry snort out of little red, before he finally pulled away and looked up at him with a lopsided grin that he'd often seen in the mirror. "Jeez, you're a bigger priss than _my_ Leo, and that's _saying_ somethin'," little red snickered, finally wiping away the tears with the back of his bloodstained hand before folding his arms, looking as though everything that'd just happened _hadn't_ just happened. "What's next? You gonna tell me that _you_ knitted the poncho Splinter's wearing or something?" he chuckled.

Raphael said nothing, his eyes shifting to the side. Whilst his goal to break the tension had worked – after wondering if Mikey's antics were starting to rub off on him or something – now, he felt just as awkward as before.

Little red gawked at him, arms falling to his side limply. "For real?"

Raphael rolled his eyes, still refusing to look down at his other self. "Yeah, I knit, so what? You got a problem with that, shrimp?" he growled.

"What? No, no way dude. I just thought _I_ was the only 'Raph' that did that kinda thing."

Raphael snapped his eyes back down at his shorter self. "…say what now?"

Five minutes later, the two of them had returned to the lair, and after wrapping up little red's bloodied knuckles – and ignoring the worried questions of Donatello at the sight of him – they were sat side by side on the floor in front of the occupied couch, diligently knitting away at a new blanket in a comfortable, companionable silence.

As they worked, Raphael couldn't help but smile to himself. Now _this_ was something that both of them could do, not just to appease themselves or find a different outlet for their guilt, their rage, their hatred, but also as a means of…well, for lack of a better term, bonding.

And best of all, no half-assed or sappy words of comfort were needed for them to feel at ease.

* * *

 **A/N: Bonding over knitting XD. Oh Raphie :3  
**

 **I hope you enjoyed that, and more are on the way!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Another chapter already? Wow, I'm on a roll! (well, actually I'd finished this chapter already, so I decided to post it now XD)**

 **I hope you guys like this, even though it's probably a little shorter than the others are DX**

 **I OWN NOTHING!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

It was the middle of the night when Leonardo was abruptly awoken from his sleep by the sound of shifting fabric, followed by careful footfalls upon the cold concrete floor that trailed off deeper into the lair, before fading entirely.

His brows furrowing, he sat up in his bed and looked up, blue eyes searching the darkened lair for whoever was awake and wandering. Everyone else was still asleep, with two turtles each sharing a bed. He could hear both Raphael's; the snoring pair were bundled up in the blanket they'd completed together earlier that evening, and had been knocked out within seconds of falling onto the bed. He could hear the two-part chorus of muttered techno-babble from Donatello's bed, and on the couch, he could faintly see Michelangelo cuddled beside his father, blissfully aware of nothing at all as he snored faintly.

However, as he looked over at where the other Mikey and the other Leo were sleeping, he immediately noticed that Mikey, looking very small and fragile in his sleep compared to the loud bouncing ball of energy he'd been only hours earlier, was the only one occupying the bed. There was no sign of Leo.

Leonardo raised a brow, already rising from his bed with mounting worry. Where had he gone? None of the lights were on in the kitchen or in the dojo…

Surely he hadn't gone off to find the Kraang base on his _own_ , had he?

It would make sense, though, in a way. Aside from Raph, who'd stormed off to punch a wall until his hands bled, until Raphael had found him and brought him back, Leo had taken Mikey getting injured _very_ hard. He'd openly blamed himself for what had happened, going into a near panicked state at the sight of the blood dripping from his younger brother's shoulder, and had refused to leave his side until now…

So it was inevitable that he'd decide that the best way to get to the Kraang portal, without anyone else getting hurt again in the process, would be for him to go off on his own and bring it back himself.

The only reason why Leonardo _knew_ this to be the case was because, if he'd been in the same situation, he'd have done the same thing…and also because, well, they were the _same person_. Only a 'Leo' would ever think of going to such drastic measures to protect his family with little thought or regret.

And it was in knowing this that Leonardo hurriedly got out of bed, grabbed his swords and dashed out of the lair as fast and as quietly as he could manage, without waking the others. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to go too far to find his other self before it was too late.

However, after running through the sewer tunnels for what felt like an eternity, it was only until he journeyed above ground that he finally found him.

He was standing at the edge of a rooftop, merely a few blocks away from the warehouse the Kraang had decided to make their temporary base. He was staring at the old building, not moving an inch from the edge of the rooftop, his mask tails fluttering in the soft breeze. Leonardo couldn't see his face, but as he watched his fists clench, he knew that his other self was restraining his fury.

And he knew that he was being watched.

"Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to tell me why you followed me here?" the shorter turtle asked, his voice low and laced with a thick layer of ice that Leonardo had only ever hard coming out of his own mouth. He knew himself well enough to know that this was a threat, but he ignored it, squaring his shoulders as he took a step towards the double of himself that refused to face him.

"You know _exactly_ why I followed you here," he said evenly, watching as the muscles in Leo's arms tensed, ready to move and grab the Katanas strapped to his shell if need be. "I'm here to stop you, and bring you home."

"Hm," the other turtle said, nodding once. "Then you must know I'm not going to let you do that," he added with a growl.

Leonardo fought the urge to smirk confidently. "Yeah, I figured as much. We're pretty stubborn after all," he shrugged, stopping just inches behind the smaller terrapin. Neither of them made another move, nor made a sound as they stood there, glaring over at the abandoned warehouse beyond. An eternity seemed to have passed, until the silence was finally broken…

"You can't stop me. I'm going in there, no matter what you do or say," Leo said, shattering the moment of tense silence, his tone once again lowered and challenging.

At that, Leonardo shrugged one large shoulder indifferently. "You can _try_ it. But I _will_ stop you. You may be strong, but I'm _stronger_."

Finally, Leo snapped his head around. The ice in his voice was reflected in his glare as he directed it up at Leonardo, his mouth set in a thin line and his fists clenched. " _This_ coming from a boy who learned ninjitsu from a _book_?" he snapped harshly. "You may be bigger than me, maybe a little stronger, but that's all you are. You don't have the skill, or the speed, or the experience that _I_ do."

Leonardo's jaw clenched, and he fought the near irresistible urge to punch the kid square in the face. It was true that their knowledge of ninjitsu was limited compared to their other selves, and they'd shown how well they could fight; the way they'd flipped and spun on their feet with the grace of cranes, the strength and speed they possessed as they weaved their way through the army of Kraang robots…it was uncanny how good they were. However, if the kid dared to degrade _his_ father's teachings, just to get _under his skin_ …

No…that wasn't it. His words had been cold, yes, but they'd been born from frustration. He wasn't thinking clearly, hence why they were standing on a rooftop, in the middle of the night, right next to a warehouse crawling with alien robots that would blast them to pieces if they so much as caught a glimpse of them. There was even a glimmer of regret in Leo's eyes at what he'd said, what he'd allowed his frustration to unleash. However it was quickly banished as he turned to face Leonardo fully, shoulders bristling.

"You fight me, I _will_ beat you," he snarled. "I don't care if you're me from another dimension; _nothing_ will stop me from getting my family home! If you really _are_ me, you'd understand instead of trying to stop me -!"

"And I _do!"_ Leonardo snapped, grabbing Leo's shoulders despite how wide the other turtles' eyes became, or how his first reaction was to try and push his larger self away to no avail. "And if _you_ really were _me_ , you'd know how much of a _bad idea_ this is!" Leonardo pressed on. "Going solo into the enemies' base _never_ usually works out, in case you didn't know, Mr _Experienced!"_

 _"Let me go!"_ Leo grunted, grabbing Leonardo's wrists and fighting to pull his hands off his shoulders.

 _"NO! Not until you get through your thick skull that what you're doing is_ _ **suicide**_ , and unless you just _really want to die_ tonight, you'll _shut up_ and **_listen_** _!"_ Leonardo growled, his grip firm and unyielding on his smaller self, who suddenly went still and stared up at him with wide eyes.

Swallowing thickly, he continued. "You feel awful about what happened to Mikey today, and you want to make sure it doesn't happen again, I _get_ it. But going after the portal by yourself, plunging head-first into a whole army of alien robots…what do you think would happen if you never came back, huh? If you go in there, and you _died_ , how do you think your brothers would feel knowing they'd lost their brother, how _Splinter_ would feel knowing he'd lost his son, _forever?_ "

He paused, allowing his words to sink in. And as Leo's downcast eyes lost their heated spark and lowered to the concrete, his hands slipping off Leonardo's wrists and hanging loosely at his sides, the larger turtle knew that it was working.

"You're very brave, Leo," Leonardo said gently, regaining the smaller turtle's attention as he looked back up at him. "Your willingness to do what others couldn't, just to keep your family safe, is remarkable and admirable. But if it means you lose your life, leaving your family behind to grieve, I know for _certain_ that they would rather be stuck here in another world, than go back home and live the rest of their lives _without_ their older brother."

It was then, much to Leonardo' shock, that tears began to pool in the other turtles' eyes, dampening his blue mask as they trailed down his face. He lowered his head once more, letting the tears fall to the concrete as he shut his eyes, his lower lip trembling as he fought to keep his sobs at bay.

"…I…I just…" Leo began, his voice wavering dangerously, barely above a whisper. "…I just want them to be _safe_. I just...I don't want my family to be separated _again_. I'm _tired_ of losing them, losing Splinter, losing _her,_ and…I just want it all to _stop…"_

All the while, Leonardo didn't say a word. Instead, as he watched Leo lift up a hand to wipe away his tears, but failing as more quickly took their place, he let out a soft sigh and shook his head, before gently pulling the smaller turtle to his chest, wrapping his arms around him. As he closed his eyes, he felt Leo go ridged in his embrace, but he didn't pull away.

"I know. I know you're tired," Leonardo said. "But all we can do to make everything right again is to keep fighting. We _will_ get you, your brothers, _and_ your Sensei back home again. And this time, we'll do it _right_. And we'll do it _together_."

In that moment, Leo became undone. And Leonardo felt his heart ache for his other self as the smaller terrapin let his head fall against his chest and finally succumbed to his tears of bottled up frustration, fear, sadness…

Leonardo wasn't entirely aware of what his other self had been through in their dimension, but it was clear it had taken its toll on the young leader. And it seemed that this recent disaster, from being teleported to an alternate world, to being separated from their father, and finally watching his baby brother come so close to death by the hands of their enemies, had been the final nail in the coffin for Leo. He'd been fully prepared to throw himself into a very literal death trap, on his own, just to reunite his family.

But it was just as he'd told Raphael the night they'd ran into their Hogosha for the first time.

 _"We all stick together."_

Tonight's mission had been a failure. But Leonardo swore that no matter what, he and his brothers would get their counterparts back home before their time ran out. And they would do it as a team.

As a _family_.

* * *

 **A/N: Poor baby Leo :(  
**

 **FYI, this was originally going to be a _much_ darker chapter...but I wagered that 2012 hasn't reached _that_ point just yet. But I hope you guys liked it anyways, and more are on the way!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Wow, I'm doing a LOT of updating aren't I? XD For this chapter, I decided to do something a little different, but I won't spoil it; I'll just let you read it XD**

 **I OWN NOTHING! STILL NOT...oh forget it, you guys get the joke.**

 **Enjoy!**

 ***crawls into a corner and sobs about how I'll never be as stupid rich as Eric Sach's even though he was probably the most unneeded character in the whole tmnt franchise :(***

* * *

 **Chapter 6**

From where he sat in the center of his cell, his legs folded beneath him and his back turned from the electrified bars that contained him within the small space, the old rat could hear nothing but the continuous whirring of the Kraang's robotic bodies as they marched down the hallways, their weapons in hand and their soulless eyes trained only on whatever lay ahead of them. They paid no heed to the mutant rodent they had taken captive.

At least, for the time being, that is. There was no telling what the creatures had planned for him when the time was right.

However, Splinter chose not to dwell too much on that. Instead, he chose to close his eyes, lay his hands on his lap, and meditate. Aside from the fact that it was all he could really do since there was no way he could escape the cell by himself at the moment (though not for lack of trying), it was also a means to appease his spirit, to ease the fears that desperately attempted to burst through the seams of his composure.

A day had already passed since the accident that had brought him and his sons to this other world. A day since they had become separated, with no means of contacting one another. A day since he had been captured by the Kraang and tossed into this wretched cell…but not a second passed when Splinter didn't think about his children, wondering where they were, if they were safe, or even if they had found a way to return to their home world.

If they did, then that was fine by him. He cared not what happened to him. The Kraang could torture him, or kill him, but as long as his children were alive and safe from their clutches, that was all that mattered to him.

He was more than willing to make the sacrifice the four boys that had made his life worth living…

The faint sounds of laser fire echoing from deep inside the facility interrupted his thoughts. His brows furrowing, his eyes still closed, he tilted his head slightly to the side; he could also hear the panicked robotic voices of the Kraang, shouting out orders in their jumbled English only to be cut off merely seconds later, and the sounds of metal limbs being sliced off before clattering to the ground.

Those were the sounds of battle. And the only ones Splinter knew could possibly stand up to the forces of the Kraang were…

It _couldn't_ be…

The robotic whirring suddenly became louder, and Splinter finally opened his eyes and turned around to find two Kraang droids standing outside his cell, their glowing eyes glaring at him through the electric bars. Not intimidated in the slightest, Splinter narrowed his eyes and glared right back at them, fighting the animalistic urge to snarl and hiss at them.

"The one known as Splinter will do that which is known as come with Kraang," one of them said, the other moving towards the control panel beside the cell to open it. "The time which is known as the time to set that which is known as the trap that is the trap for the ones called 'the turtles' is the time that is now."

Splinter blinked hard, and was unable to restrain the soft gasp that escaped his lips as his eyes widened. So it was true. His sons _were_ here, battling against the army of Kraang, to save him and retrieve the portal that would take them all home.

And now the Kraang were ready to carry out their plan to capture them as well, using _him_.

Growling, Splinter narrowed his eyes once more as the bars fell away, allowing the Kraang to enter the cell as they loomed over him. He would rather they killed him now than let them lay a hand on any of his children again –

" _Get away from him!"_

In the mere blink of an eye, the pair of Kraang had been impaled through their chests by a long metal staff, their metallic bodies falling to the ground before the alien creatures scampered away, screeching in fright all the while. Despite himself, Splinter released a sigh of relief, smiling as he stood up and turned to finally face his –

He froze, his eyes going wide as he stared at the turtle standing before him.

The creature – the _boy_ – was the same height, if not an inch taller, than Splinter. His plastron was left almost bare, apart from the straps of the suspenders attached to his long pants. There were even boots on his feet, leaving Splinter questioning how they could even fit a turtle his size. And attached to his left arm, his leg, the belt around his waist and the back of his shell, there were multiple gadgets that the old rat couldn't properly decipher, as well as goggles on his head, and large glasses perched on the bridge of his nose.

Splinter blinked hard. He looked _nothing_ like his child, or _any_ of his children in fact. And yet the purple mask he wore behind those giant pair of glasses was unmistakable…

Of course. This was another dimension, a world very, if not entirely, different from his own. So that meant _this_ turtle was this world's version of…

"…Donatello?"

After a breathless moment, 'Donatello' nodded at him with a smile, twirling his staff in his hand before sheathing it behind his shell among the other gadgets attached to him. "Yep, that's me," he said with a shy little shrug as he cleared his throat. "I take it you're Master Splinter, right? Unless you're _not_ , I mean…well, the analytical possibilities of finding another mutant rat hybrid in this facility are minimal, but at this rate I wouldn't even be _surprised_ seeing that –"

Holding up a hand to silence the turtle before he could continue his prattling, Splinter found himself smiling at the boy. He looked nothing like _his_ Donatello…and yet, everything, from the purple mask to the way he smiled (despite the lack of the gap between his teeth) to the way he carried himself with an air of confidence yet slight inelegance, was _exactly_ the same. Even the outrageous amount of gadgets seemed fitting.

And he had to admit, the glasses were actually a nice touch.

"Do not fear, Donatello. I _am_ Splinter," he said, dropping his hand back to his side.

" _Oh_ thank _goodness_!" Donatello sighed, dramatically throwing his head back in a manner that made Splinter chuckle. "You have _no_ _idea_ how long it took for us to find you, I mean this place is like freaking _Maze Runner_ except we're being chased by aliens instead of an angry gorilla or something." Then, after letting out another breath and shaking his head to banish whatever thoughts had manifested, Donatello turned back to Splinter. "Anyway, we've gotta get you outta here, like, right now," he said. "I don't mean to rush you, but we really don't have much time left."

Nodding, his expression hardening with resolve, Splinter followed Donatello as he beckoned him out of the cell and into the open hallways, both of them looking left and right in case there were any Kraang approaching. Once they were sure the coast was clear, Donatello turned to the right and hurried down the hall, with the ninja master in tow.

"The other six of us are on the bottom floor distracting the Kraang," the purple clad turtle explained in a low voice as they rushed down the darkened passage. "They sent me and my Michelangelo up here to look for you and we had to split up. We agreed to rendezvous at the stairs in ten minutes if we came up with nothing, but I haven't heard from him on my communicator yet and –"

"Wait…you said that there were _six_ of you. Are _my sons_ here as well?!" Splinter interjected with wide eyes, his heart sinking into his stomach with dread. This warehouse was crawling with Kraang droids, more than Splinter had ever seen in one place at one time since the second invasion. If _his_ sons were here, there was no guarantee they would be able to get out again with so many aliens flooding in to attack…

Donatello stared at Splinter warily, swallowing thickly, and looking very much like he'd done something wrong as they approached a corner. "…um…yes, that's right, they're here too. But we _had_ to! Me and my brothers couldn't possibly handle the Kraang on our own, and plus –"

As they rounded the corner, they skidded to a stop, coming face to face with several Kraang droids, all of which held their guns and aimed them directly at the pair.

" _Eeep!"_ Donatello squeaked in terror.

Instinctively, Splinter stepped in front of the turtle, his eyes narrowed darkly as a snarl hissed through his fangs. It didn't matter if he wasn't _exactly_ his child; he would protect him with his life, as he would readily do for _all_ of his children, regardless of what world or time period they were from.

"Stop the ones known as Splinter and Donatello. You have been once again captured by Kraang and will be that which is known as destroyed," the droid at the front of the pack declared. "Resistance is futile. The time that is now will be the time of that which is known as –"

 ** _"Ugh_** _, will you guys just_ _ **SHUT UP?!"**_

A flash of green and orange flew across Splinter's vision, and within moments, the large turtle had knocked down every single droid in his path, not one of them escaping the wrath of his whirling nunchaku – or his terrible puns.

Once the dust had cleared, Splinter's eyes widened for the third time that day at the sight of the turtle standing before him, smiling down smugly at the fallen droids surrounding him in the hallway. Just like the Donatello standing beside him, this turtle was large, though he was a few inches shorter than his older purple clad brother, and was much stockier. He too wore pants and boots, as well as an old hoodie tied around his waist, and had a bead necklace and a pair of sunglasses dangling from around his neck. On the back of his shell, with straps holding it in place, there was a machine that Splinter _assumed_ was some kind of skateboard, and heaven forbid it was rocket-powered. And above all, the boy wore an orange bandana that was unmistakable…

Splinter blinked. _Hard_. This boy _couldn't_ be Michelangelo, could he? He was built like _Raphael_.

" _Whew_! Great timing, Mikey," Donatello sighed with relief, carefully weaving his way through the robot bodies strewn about the floor as he approached his younger brother. "I never thought I'd be so glad to see your ugly mug, little brother."

Grinning from ear to ear, the orange clad turtle clapped a hand on Donatello's shoulder. "No worries, brah. That's how I roll," he said. "Besides, I know how much you _hate_ guns, 'specially the laser ones."

Donatello sent him a flat look in response. "You _have_ to rub it in, don't you?" he deadpanned. Mikey giggled at that, shrugging innocently.

At the exchange, Splinter only smiled and shook his head. That was Michelangelo alright, from his odd speech pattern to the playful banter with his older brothers. Chuckling, he mused how on earth he could have ever doubted him simply because he was larger and far more muscular than his own freckled child.

Suddenly, Michelangelo whipped his head around to stare at Splinter, as if he'd only just noticed his presence. Marching over, nudging Donatello out of the way with his elbow and ignoring his squeak of indignant protest, the orange clad reptile looked the giant rat up and down with wide, curious blue eyes.

"So… _you're_ Mini-Mikey's Master Splinter?" he asked in awe.

Still smiling at the boy's antics, Splinter nodded. "Yes. And you must be this world's version of Michelangelo."

Michelangelo blinked. "Dude. You're really _tall_."

Splinter chuckled again. "I am."

"And you've got _brown_ fur. And you don't have black eyes. And you look kinda young for an old –"

" _Mikey_ ," Donatello interjected impatiently before his brother's observations could go any further. "In case you forgot, there's still a _battle_ going on downstairs, and unless you want us to get captured again, we'd better haul shell!"

Rounding on his older brother, Michelangelo offered him a serious nod of his head, before turning back to Splinter. "You ready to book it, Master Splinter?"

Though the situation was dire, and there was no more time to waste if he were ever to see his children again, Splinter still couldn't fight the small, tolerant smile as he nodded once. "Yes, Michelangelo," he said, already hurrying past him as the three of them took off in a sprint down the hallway leading to the staircase. "Let us, as you say, 'book it'."

The startled laughter that burst from both boys brought warmth to Splinter's heart for the first time in days.

* * *

 **A/N: I really wanted to explore how I think 2012 Splinter would react to 2014 turtles XD so I hope I did alright! See you guys in the next chapter, which may or may or may not be the last!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: HERE WE ARE MY FRIENDS! THE FINAL CHAPTER!**

 **I decided to make this one extra long, just for you guys! And whilst had a bit of trouble, I had fun writing it. In fact, I got a little teary-eyed XD**

 **I hope you all enjoy it, because I certainly did!**

 **I OWN NOTHING!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 7**

Heaving a heavy sigh, Leonardo gazed about him with wary eyes, his Katanas still clenched tightly in his sweaty palms. With their combined efforts, despite lacking two members of their team and one of them still very injured from their last attempt gone awry, the six turtles had managed to take down all Kraang droids on the lower levels of the warehouse, their robotic parts strewn about the floor in a mess of limbs and screaming pink blobs that scrambled away to safety.

Nodding once to himself in satisfaction, Leonardo turned around to face the remainder of his team; the four other-worldly turtles and his own brothers, Raphael and Michelangelo. They looked as exhausted and ragged as he felt, with multiple bruises and cuts marring their skin and shells from many a lucky hit from a Kraang or two, but they were still standing. Hell, even Mikey, with one arm in a sling and the other limply clutching a nunchaku, was smiling despite the obvious pain he was in.

It had been no easy task. With more and more aliens arriving on the scene faster than they could count, laser fire raining down upon them nonstop and with two less turtles to aid them, the odds should _not_ have been in their favor in the slightest. But they'd made it. And Leonardo thanked whatever god was listening to him that they were all still in one piece after all the chaos that had ensued.

"I think…that's the last of them," Raphael sighed, sheathing his Sais before leaning forwards with his hands resting on his knees. " _Phew._ Now _that's_ what I call a workout."

"You…you kiddin'? That was…just a _warm-up_ ," the other Raph grinned through pants of obvious exhaustion as he patted his larger self on the shoulder. In response, Raphael just shook his head and chuckled, giving his other self a little shove for his troubles.

"Yeah, 'just a _warm-up_ '," muttered Donnie sourly, who approached the rest of them with the portable portal device safely tucked away into his duffle bag – at long last – as he cast a weary gaze at his older brother, folding his arms over his chest. "You look like you're about ready to fall on your face, Raph, don't even _try_ to deny it," he added dryly, but was promptly waved off by the shorter red clad turtle.

"Ah, whatever. At least I don't look like I got electrocuted a billion times trying to deactivate the portal," Raph shot back, earning an irritated growl from Donnie as he took a threatening step towards his brother. With a resigned sigh, the other Leo sheathed his swords and stepped forward to put a stop to whatever fight would commence between the two.

However, their attention was quickly diverted to little Mikey instead, who'd collapsed to the floor on his rear-end with a resounding ' _thump'_ and a grunt of pain. All three of his older brothers were instantly at his side, falling to their knees as they laid steadying hands on Mikey's shoulders to keep him upright.

"Mikey? Are you okay, buddy?" Donnie asked, laying a hand against his forehead to check his temperature, and Leonardo found himself once again baffled; it was almost scary how this version of Donnie could be as hot-tempered as _Raph_ , and then suddenly revert to the 'Doctor Turtle' they all knew and loved within the blink of an eye. Not even _their_ Donatello could do that.

" _Uuugh…so tired,"_ the freckled kid groaned pitifully, his eyes fighting to stay open as his head lulled to the side. "Need a _break_ …need _food_ …need _pizza!"_

At that, the five older turtles shared a collective knowing glance. Yep, he was going to be just fine.

Other Leo let out a breath that was between a light chuckle and a sigh of relief as he laid a hand atop Mikey's head, rubbing it affectionately. "Well that's what happens when you sneak out of the lair to fight when we _told_ you to stay at home," he said, though his tone was gentle, if not teasing. Then, he pulled Mikey into a hug, arms wrapping around his shoulders warmly. "Still, you did _awesome_ today," he added, and his smile grew wider when Mikey attempted to return the embrace with one arm, and he held him closer. "We probably never would've made it if you hadn't shown up, Mikey. So, thanks."

"Yeah," added Raph with a lopsided tilt of his lips that definitely wasn't a smile as he reached out to lay a hand on Mikey's good shoulder, squeezing it lightly. "We're proud of you, little brother."

"But seriously," Donnie added, raising a warning finger as he narrowed is brown eyes at the smallest turtle, "next time you get hurt that bad, do yourself and the rest of us a favor and –"

"And ignore everything you say and go out to kick butt anyways?" Mikey interjected, looking up from Leo's chest with a cheeky grin that would've put a monkey to shame. "Got it!"

As Donnie growled and shook his fist warningly at his giggling younger brother, behind them, Leonardo and Raphael smiled at the exchange. It was true that even though he'd gone against the direct orders of _both_ his leaders, _and_ Splinter – a new record for Mikey's _everywhere_ – and had risked further injuring himself again during the battle, Mikey's surprise arrival really _had_ saved their shells.

But then again, it hadn't been _that_ much of a surprise. After all, it was _Mikey._ They'd expected nothing less from their little brother, regardless of what universe he belonged to.

However, they had no time to celebrate their victory just yet. With Donnie's aid –with a few doses of electricity flowing through his body and vulgar curse words even Leonardo didn't know existed – they'd managed to deactivate and finally claim the Kraang portal. But that was only _half_ of their mission. They still had yet to receive word from Michelangelo and Donatello regarding the search and rescue of the other Master Splinter. They'd been gone for over half an hour, and Leonardo was starting to worry.

"Alright, guys," he announced, earning the attention of everyone in the room. "As much as I hate to say this, we're not done yet. We still need to find your Splinter, and _our_ Mikey and Don before we leave. And I've already got a bad feeling that they might've run into some trouble."

"What do you expect, fearless?" Raphael said, folding his arms over his broad chest. "It's _Mikey_ and _Donnie_. Those two _always_ get into trouble."

 _"Hey_!" both the little ones cried, frowning up at Raphael whilst their two older brothers shared a grin. Raphael only shrugged, saying nothing more, but was unable to prevent his own smug little smile from growing across his face.

Leonardo shook his head at their antics, before turning to look down at his other self. As if reading his thoughts, the other Leo looked up and met his eyes. A firm nod of the head was all it took for him to understand; it was _his_ turn to take the lead. He and his brothers knew the Kraang better than anyone else here, so if there were any more of those alien blobs waiting for them in this building, little Leo would know what to do.

Releasing his hold on his baby brother, Leo stood up, albeit with some minor difficulty and a grunt of pain from the injuries he'd sustained from the fight. "Okay. First thing's first, we need to track down _your_ Donatello," he said, nodding once to his larger counterparts. "He and Donnie set up a link to our T-Phones and his scanner, so if anything went wrong, he could track –"

He stopped, blinking once as he stared passed the two larger turtles.

"Oh, never mind, there they are."

Leonardo and Raphael immediately whirled around. They found, much to their relief, Michelangelo and Donatello rushing through the door and into the open space, faces creased with worry, but for the most part they were unharmed.

However, they both skidded to a stop once they caught sight of the remains of dozens upon dozens of robots, and their worry morphed into something akin to admiration and a touch of mortification. " _Wow_. What is this, '300'?!" Donatello gasped, carefully stepping around the mess of metal limbs as he made a face. "Whatever we missed while we were gone I'm _glad_ we missed it! This is _madness_!"

"No way, Don! _This. Is._ _ **SPARTAAA**_ _!"_ Michelangelo crowed loudly, pumping his fist in the air. And if Donatello could have rolled his eyes any higher, they would have rolled right out of their sockets. The other turtles were no different as they rolled their eyes collectively – aside from Mikey, who actually laughed at the horrendous pun, unsurprisingly enough.

Well, at least they were safe. Thank goodness for that.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot!" Michelangelo gasped excitedly, moving aside to present the figure that Leonardo only just noticed had been looming behind them this whole time. " _Ta-daaa_! We found him!" the younger turtle announced with a dramatic flourish.

Instantly, the four other-worldly turtles looked up, their eyes widening as their eyes met the large, dark robed figure emerging from behind Michelangelo. And while Leonardo and Raphael found themselves gaping in surprise – he looked _nothing_ like their father in the slightest, not even the color of his _fur_ was the same – the other four were not. Instead, their faces broke out into wide, teary-eyed smiles as they gasped.

 _"Father!"_

As they scrambled to their feet and bolted towards the rat, who met them halfway with his arms spread out wide, Leonardo watched from the side-lines as the old rat's eyes filled with a joy and a love so pure, the likes of which he'd only ever seen in the eyes of his own father, before they barreled into him, wrapping their arms around him and nuzzling their faces into his chest. He held them as close as he could manage, dipping his head so that he cheek was resting atop the head of his youngest child.

"My sons," he said, closing his eyes to ward off the tears starting in his eyes as he smiled, holding the four of them closer and looking as though he'd never let them ago again. "I am relieved you are alive and safe. How I have _missed_ you."

"We missed you too, dad," Mikey sniffled against Splinter's chest, burrowing himself deeper between his father and his brothers, melting into the warmth and love of their embrace.

As the four larger turtles then turned to each other, smiling warmly at the scene before them – with Michelangelo using the back of his hand to wipe away his own tears – Leonardo once again met Leo's gaze from the corner of his eye, still clinging to his father like a lifeline. Once again, all it took was a subtle nod of his head, and a teary smile, for him to understand.

 _Thank you._

And without a word, Leonardo nodded and grinned back.

 _I told you we'd do it. And we did it together._

* * *

The next few hours after the battle and the touching reunion, for Raphael at least, could only be described as something as close to the ending to a fairy tale as a family of mutant turtles and rats could get. The seven of them had managed to safely make it back to their lair through the sewer tunnels, all in one piece, and with the Kraang portal device safely – _finally_ – in their possession. And after some careful examination, with both Donatello's working together, and with both Raphael's standing by in case one of them – or _both_ of them – managed to get another friendly zap from the alien tech, they'd discovered that the portal had more than enough energy to send the little guys back home again.

So, with their master rescued and the good news about the portal, the four little guys were obviously overjoyed. And what better way to celebrate a job well done than with some good old fashioned –

 _"PIZZA IN THE HOUSE, BRAH!"_ both Mikey's hollered, holding two pizza boxes in hand curtesy of April O'Neil and Vern Fenwick, who followed behind the bouncing pair as they entered the lair, greeting the mutants as they gathered together in the main room.

It had taken everything in Raphael's power to keep himself from bursting into laughter at the look on Vern's face when he counted more than five mutants in the lair. His eyes were wide, his finger up, and his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. He turned to April, utter confusion in his eyes, and she merely reached up to pat him on the shoulder. "Long story," she said. Seemingly satisfied, Vern quickly shrugged it off.

The rest of their evening had been…well, actually kind of peaceful, considering it was a house full of mostly teenagers. With the Kraang portal in no danger of running out of juice any time soon, the two families were free to take it easy until morning.

Both Splinter's had become well acquainted with each other, and the two of them, along with April who'd decided to join in with the adults, were sat in the dojo exchanging stories over tea. By the looks on their faces, it was clear the stories weren't all that flattering.

Both Mikey's had practically kidnapped Vern, and were holding him hostage on the couch in front of the T.V as they played a furious game of Mario Kart, not that Vern was really complaining; he looked as though he was genuinely enjoying himself, and had taken a special liking to little orange…until the little freckled being of pure evil had picked Rainbow Road.

Predictably enough, both Leonardo's were together, talking in the kitchen with their own cups of tea over something Raphael couldn't properly hear over the sound of music and shouts of frustration from the couch – _"How the hell do you stop yourself from falling every five seconds?!"_ – But from the looks of it, and the fact that little blue looked as though he were suppressing tears of joy again, Raphael wagered that it was some kind of sappy 'thank you for helping us' speech.

Well, not that it wasn't rather touching to see, considering everything they'd been through in forty-eight hours or so; a few more tears here and there were to be expected.

The Donatello's were in the 'nerd center' together, talking about what to do with the Kraang portal once they went through to their own world, before geeking out together about more nerd stuff. Raphael shook his head at them, but was inwardly hoping that they could destroy the portal once all was said and done. The last thing they wanted was more of those alien freaks plundering on their turf and messing with their family again.

And as for little red…

"Hey."

Raphael turned, finding the aforementioned turtle standing beside him, though refusing to look up at him. Instead, his green eyes roamed about the lair, watching his brothers and his father as they talked and played and laughed together…and though his expression was indifferent, Raphael swore he could see something warm and tender in his emerald orbs…and were those _tears_?

Little red's right hand struck out, but not to hit him. "Here."

Blinking hard, Raphael looked down at little red's hand, noticing the long strip of red, thickly knitted fabric looping loosely around his arm. Raphael took it, shaking it out so that he could get a good look at what appeared to be a scarf. It was impressive, of course; it was Raphael after all, and he'd expect nothing less from himself.

But what _really_ struck him, what made his eyes widen and his mouth hang agape for the fraction of a second, was what little red had embellished along the length of the scarf.

It was a message written in Japanese.

 **おかげで、兄。**

 _Okage de, ani._

 _Thanks, brother._

"Heh," Raphael snorted, in an obvious attempt to keep his own sentiment at bay lest he look like Leonardo, as he looked down at little red. He still refused to look up at him, and his arms were crossed firmly over his chest, though nothing could hide the red tint on his cheeks.

Raphael had tried his best to deny it, but he could deny it no longer. He'd grown pretty attached to the little ones, more than he'd ever planned to. And now that they were leaving first thing in the morning…well, he was gonna miss them. _A lot_. Even though they were literally the _same people_ , they were still family. And if there was one thing the turtles hated, it was the idea of a member of their family leaving, and never coming back.

And damn if little red hadn't just brought on some serious feelings with the stupid, amazing, sappy scarf he'd probably spent over an hour knitting for _him_ –

Ah, screw it.

"Alright, that's it, c'mere you!" Raphael chuckled, reaching down to grab little red, lifting him off the floor and pulling him into his muscular arms, the scarf still clutched in his hand. "Stupid lil squirt!"

Of course, little red was quick to react. " _H-Hey! What the hell?! G-Get the hell offa me you jackass!"_ he cried indignantly, squirming in the unrelenting grip of the larger turtle as he helplessly kicked his legs in the air.

" _Raphael, watch your language!"_ called both Splinter's from the dojo.

Little red scowled, giving in entirely as he sighed, going limp in Raphael's arms. "Sorry, Sensei," he called back miserably.

Raphael just smirked. Yeah, he was really going to miss these guys. Especially little red.

" _Awwww, look!_ Big Tough Raph is hugging Little Tough Raphie!" little orange cooed from the couch, and he was closely followed by Michelangelo and _Vern._

Both the red clad turtles bristled, glaring at their baby brothers sharply.

 ** _"SHUT UP, MIKEY!"_**

* * *

It was the next morning, after quite possibly the best night's sleep Michelangelo recalled ever having in the longest time, and an even _better_ breakfast – Mini-Mikey was an _awesome_ chef, obviously – the time had finally come to bid their farewells.

"My sons," Bigger-Splinter called from the dojo.

When all eight turtles lifted their heads and turned his way expectantly, the old rat blinked in surprise before he chuckled and shook his head at his own blunder, with Michelangelo's own father following suit.

"It is time for us to return home."

In moments, after a flash of blinding light a thunderous robotic whir that nearly shook the whole lair, Donatello and Mini-Donnie had the portal up and running in the center of the lair. The swirling purple vortex was beautiful, entrancing…and Michelangelo was tempted, so _very_ tempted, to poke his head through and see what lay beyond, just like they did in the movies. But a stern look from Leonardo held him at bay, much to his disappointment.

"Okay," Mini-Donnie said, turning to face everyone in the room. "Once we go through, you guys have to destroy the portal completely, so that no more Kraang can get in or out of this dimension from either side. And then destroy the energy crystal –"

"But –"

"– and _no_ , using it as a power source is _not_ the best idea, Other Me," Mini-Donnie cut in, shooting a hard look over at Donatello, shaking his head. "Trust me, I've tried it, and it causes nothing but trouble. _Seriously._ "

"Dang it," Donatello sighed. Beside him, Raphael snickered behind his hand.

"Well, then. I guess this goodbye," Mini-Leo said with a shrug and a sad smile, gazing at each of their counterparts with a fondness that Michelangelo had only ever seen in the eyes of his own brother.

Then, after sharing a glance with his family, Bigger-Splinter and his sons all bowed deeply in respect. "We thank all of you for your aid," Bigger-Splinter said before they straightened up again, and the larger rat cast his gaze over to 'Shorter-Splinter'. "And thank you for keeping my sons safe in my absence," he said. "I am forever in your debt."

"Please, there is no need to thank us. It is no problem at all," Shorter-Splinter said, crossing over to lay a clawed hand on the forearm of his larger self, smiling warmly up at him. "They are our children, after all. And there is nothing we fathers wouldn't do for the sake of our sons, Hamato Yoshi."

Bigger-Splinter chuckled, nodding once. "You are correct."

At that, Michelangelo made a face, and he shared a confused glance with his brothers, who mirrored his expression. Who the heck was Hamato Yoshi?

"We really do appreciate everything you've done for us these past few days," Mini-Donnie said, biting on his lower lip as if to prevent it from trembling as he clasped his hands behind his back. "W-we…we really couldn't have done it without you."

Raphael grinned, folding his arms over his chest as he nodded his head firmly. "Damn straight," he quipped.

" _Raphael,"_ scolded both Splinters.

Raphael shrunk backwards instantly. "Sorry," he muttered. When Leonardo smirked at him, he sent him a death glare and nudged him in the gut with his elbow in response.

As the exchange went on between the counterparts as they bid their goodbyes, Michelangelo turned to face his other freckled self, who in turn looked up at him, baby blue eyes wide and filling with tears despite the smile across his face. With his arm still in a sling, it was hard for him to move, but at his side, Michelangelo could see his other hand clenching into a tight fist that trembled.

Now, Michelangelo had thought he would've been ready for this moment. He knew that saying goodbye was always hard, but one had to stay strong, keep smiling, and hope that one day they would cross paths once more.

But in this case, it would be near impossible for him to see the little guys again. They lived in another _dimension_ , and unless they wanted to risk the Kraang following them and launching an invasion in this world, they _couldn't_ come back.

And it just wasn't _fair._ After everything they'd been through, the bond they'd forged over pizza, jokes, a near death experience, and tales of adventures that stretched into the far universe, how could they just walk right out of their lives for good? How could this really be the end of everything?

And how could the last thing he ever remembered of his adorable, amazingly badass yet innocent self be that he was _crying?_

Well, nuts to that!

Sniffling, unable to hold himself back any longer, Michelangelo spread his arms out wide. _"MINI-ME!"_ he cried.

Mini-Mikey lifted his good arm, tears pouring down his face. _"BIG BADASS ME!"_ he blubbered, before the two of them ran to each other. Michelangelo wrapped his arms around his smaller self and lifted him off the floor, nearly crushing him with the strength of his loving embrace.

"I'm gonna miss you, little man!" Michelangelo bawled pathetically, squeezing the little turtle though being mindful of his injury.

"I'm g-gonna miss you t-too! T-Thanks for _everything_ , bro!" Mini-Mikey sobbed into the crook of his shoulder, doing his best to hug him with one arm. But despite the tears, he was still smiling wide enough for the both of them. And for reasons he could never hope to count, Michelangelo felt proud of him.

 _Still smiling even when you're sad. Atta boy, Mikey._

Around them, their brothers and fathers watched the exchange with warm smiles of their own, and the other Mini turtles were starting to tear up, despite their best efforts to hide it. Hell, even big brooding _Raphael_ was getting misty-eyed.

"Alright, that's it," Leonardo said with a sigh, though his smile was wide enough to split his face in two as he spread his arms out. "Bring it in, everyone. Bring it in."

Soon enough, the ten mutants had all gathered together, forming what Michelangelo would later call 'the very first Turtle Group Hug' as they held on to each other, pouring every ounce of love into the embrace until there was simply no more love to give. And for Michelangelo, this moment…it felt so _right_. Surrounded by the love and care of his family from two different worlds…it was just so _right_. And he couldn't think of anything that would possibly make it any better –

"OH! Wait, before I forget – Leo, get my T-Phone!" Mini-Mikey squeaked from the center of the group. After a bit of wriggling around, Mini-Leo passed him his little phone, and Mini-Mikey held it up as high as he could. "Everybody say ' _Booyaka-bunga_ '!" he crowed.

Michelangelo grinned. Yep, _now_ it was perfect.

 _"BOOYAKA-BUNGA!"_

 _Click!_

"Ah dang it, my eyes were closed!"

* * *

It was whole weeks later. The other turtles and their Splinter had departed through the Kraang portal, disappearing from their lair – and their lives – forever, after sharing their last goodbyes. As instructed, the portal was destroyed, courtesy of Raphael of course, and the turtles had scoured the city in search of any stray alien creatures still lurking about the city. Sure enough, they'd found none.

This city was saved once more. The dimension-hopping turtles had returned to their rightful home, and life quickly returned to normal, or as normal as a family of mutants could be.

Well, that is, until Raphael discovered something disturbingly familiar in Donatello's room one late afternoon…

 ** _"DONNIE!"_**

 _"YEEE!"_ poor Donatello screeched, jumping out of his shell at the sudden bellow that shook the lair. However, the fact that Raphael was angry at him wasn't what scared him; Raph was _always_ mad.

No, it was the fact that he'd discovered what Donnie had been hiding in his room all this time, the fact that the jig was up, and that he was surely about to be pounded out of his very skin that terrified the purple clad turtle as he reluctantly turned around in his seat at the table to face his hulk of a brother. "…um…yes?" he squeaked, smiling despite the futility of it all as Raphael marched up to him, his scowl deep and his eyes blazing.

From behind his back, Raphael pulled out Donatello's computer, pointing to the glowing, flash drive looking contraption inserted into the device with his other hand. "What the hell is _this_?" he barked.

Leonardo and Michelangelo were also seated around the table, and had looked up from their lunch at the sound of their red clad brother's yelling, looking most unimpressed. However, at the sight of what Raphael was holding, their eyes widened to dinner plates, their jaws hanging agape, and if Donatello could sink through the floor and burn alive in the center of the earth, he would have gladly done so.

Michelangelo raised a shaking finger to point at the computer, before whipping his head around to stare at Donatello. "I-Is…Is that…?"

"A shard of the Kraang energy crystal?" Leonardo finished for him with a growl, which he soon turned on the purple banded turtle as he frowned, his brows furrowing. "The same energy crystal we were specifically asked to _destroy_ after the guys left, and _not_ use as a power source?"

Donatello gulped. He was going to die today, he just knew it.

"Okay, okay, I'm _sorry!"_ he said, standing up from his chair to face the accusing, confused and angry stares of his three brothers, holding up his hands in surrender. _"_ I just – I just had to try – I-I mean –"

"Try _what_ Donnie?!" Raph snapped, taking a threatening step closer. "I swear Don, you'd better have a _real_ good excuse for not getting rid of the thing after I smashed it to pieces or I'm gonna –"

 _"I just wanted to see if I could contact the other guys from our dimension using a shard of the energy crystal on my computer I promise it's nothing bad I swear on my suspenders!"_ Donatello said without taking a breath, squeezing his eyes shut to brace himself for the worst that was sure to come.

However, as the seconds ticked on, nothing stirred and no one spoke. He dared to open one eye, and then the other, and found that his brothers were all staring at him, nonplussed. He blinked hard. "What?"

"You wanted to contact the other guys from our dimension to theirs, using the _crystal_ , on your _computer_?" Leonardo asked slowly.

"You wanted to try and talk to them on _Skype?_ " Raphael added with a raised brow, and Donatello couldn't tell if he was impressed or as confused as ever.

Shifting oddly in place, Donatello nodded. "Well, yeah…I mean, it was Other Mikey that kinda gave me the idea when he gave me Other Donnie's Skype name, though at first I had no idea _why_ he'd do that. But with the right adjustments, and a whole lot of 'turtle-luck', I'm pretty sure I could pull it off," he said, absently lifting a hand to push his glasses up his nose a little. "I've been working on it since they left. It's taking a while but I'm getting close –"

He was silenced when Leonardo walked around the table and put a hand on his shoulder. His expression was unreadable, and Donatello was certain his leader was about to outright refuse to allow him to continue, to take the energy crystal and destroy it for good –

"You really think you can do it?"

For a moment, Donnie could do no more but stare at his older brother with wide eyes, his heart in his throat. However, a fraction of a second as all it took for him to collect himself and nod, a small but determined smile gracing his features.

"Yeah, Leo. I can."

From the other side of the room, Michelangelo's sudden squeal of glee, and Raphael's wry snort of amusement as he set his computer on the table, was enough to broaden Donatello's smile and strengthen his resolve all at once.

* * *

"Okay, it's all set up, ready to go, cameras up…yep, I think it's good to go, guys."

"You're _sure_ it's not gonna explode in our faces, Don?"

"Yes, Raphael, I'm _sure_. Well…90% sure…well, kind of – no. No, I'm not sure."

"Donnie I swear to god –"

"Okay, okay, Raph, get off his shell. He's been at this for _days_ , cut him some slack. Okay, you ready Donnie?"

The four of them sat at the kitchen table, five days after the interrogation session that could've ended in someone's shell getting ripped off, Donatello drew in a deep breath through his nose, and let it out again as a shaking sigh. This was it. This was the moment they'd been waiting for, the moment Donatello had worked tirelessly for over the course of three long, endless weeks. If his efforts ultimately failed in the bitter end, at least he would have the reassurance of knowing that he'd done his very best, and that through it all, he'd had his brothers' support. Well, _sort_ of.

Liking his dry lips nervously, Donatello hovered the mouse over the call button on Skype. Praying to whatever powerful force in the universe was listening to him in that moment, he clicked.

Then, they waited.

Four sets of eyes stared intensely at the screen, breaths held and muscles tensed…

 _"…um…Hello?"_

The boys froze, their hearts stilling in their chests.

Holy cats. _Holy cats._

The screen was dark, and they couldn't see a thing, but…oh man…they'd gotten through to the other dimension, using _Skype_ of all things! They'd actually _done it!_ And that voice...

"…D-Donnie?" Donatello finally spoke, his voice quivering with joy, slight anxiousness and pure delight. "I-I-It's me! It's the other Donatello!"

Another moment of tense silence.

Then sounds of frantically scuffling items on a desk echoed from behind the screen. And after a flash of light, Other Donnie's face finally appeared.

 _"Oh my god!"_ Other Donnie screeched, slapping both hands over his mouth. _"Oh my god it's you! You actually – oh my god!"_

The other four turtles whooped loudly with joy, punching the air with glee as they cheered at the top of their lungs. They'd really made it through! They were actually talking to Other Donnie, on freaking _Skype_ , through their dimensions! This was _unbelievable_!

" _Oh jeez, holy cats!"_ Other Donnie stammered, raking a hand over his bald green head as he grinned widely. _"H-How did you guys even…wait…you used the energy crystal, didn't you?"_

Donatello cleared his throat nervously. "…um…would it be bad if I said 'yes'?"

 _"Oh my god I freaking_ _ **knew**_ _you'd do it! I_ _ **knew**_ _it, and yet I didn't –"_

"Dude, come on, what did you honestly expect was gonna happen? I'm _you,_ remember? You know that _neither_ us can resist the call of science, right?"

Other Donnie stared at him flatly through the screen, his left eye twitching. " _…shut up,"_ he muttered, a smile creeping its way across his face again. _"But seriously, this is_ _ **nuts**_ _! This is awesome, I can't believe you're here! Man, me and the guys have missed you so much – oh, wait, I gotta get the others!"_

What transpired after that was, to put it bluntly, the best thing that had happened to him and his brothers since the other turtles left. Other Donnie's brothers arrived, and their reaction had been a spectacle to behold. They'd even brought along their world's version of April O'Neil – who really _was_ a very pretty girl, as Michelangelo had unabashedly proclaimed aloud – and a black haired, lanky teenage boy named Casey Jones. The gap-toothed punk kid had quite a bit to say about Raphael, teasing Other Raph for how tiny he was in comparison, which had been the start of a very long and very 'humorous' debate of how 'size didn't matter'.

And all the while, Donatello couldn't have been happier. Sitting among his family, from this world and another, a thought from the very nigh they'd met once again crossed his mind.

It didn't matter that they were from different dimensions, because the eight of them in this room, and on the other side of the dimensional plane, were still very much four in the same. They were brothers. They were family.

And as he shared a quick knowing glance with his other brothers in the room, it was clear that they knew it, too.

And they wouldn't have it any other way.

 **The End.**

* * *

 **A/N: HOORAAY!  
**

 **I hope you all enjoyed the story, and thank you everyone who followed, faved, and commented! You guys are the greatest ever! More stories are on the way, including No Love Is Greater!**

 **Love you all! Thanks for reading! xxxxx**


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